Oct. 22 (Bloomberg) -- Toyota Motor Corp.’s recall of 1.53
million autos worldwide for a flaw linked to brake-fluid leaks
boosts the company’s tally of U.S. vehicles requiring repairs to
more than 5 million this year. Honda Motor Co. plans to fix
almost a half-million vehicles for the same defect.

Toyota said yesterday it will repair about 740,000 vehicles
in the U.S. and 599,000 in Japan with rubber seals at risk of
allowing leaks. U.S. models affected include certain Avalon
sedans, Highlander sport-utility vehicles and Lexus GS 300, IS
250 and IS 350 luxury cars for model years 2004 through 2006.
The Toyota City, Japan-based company has announced recalls
covering 5.4 million U.S. autos this year.

“They seem to know they must be very open about this to
restore customer confidence,” said Ian Fletcher, an analyst at
IHS Automotive in London. “They can’t afford anymore to have
the massive political trial they had in the U.S.”

Toyota, the world’s biggest carmaker, is seeking to regain
market share and customers’ trust after recalling more than 10
million autos globally in the past year, including about 8
million for defects linked to unintended acceleration. To catch
defects earlier, Toyota has slowed its vehicle-development
process, added engineers in the U.S. and Japan and assigned
teams to scrutinize parts designs and suppliers’ operations.

Honda, Japan’s second-largest automaker, told regulators in
Japan this week it would recall about 4,000 Legend sedans in
that market for the same brake-fluid glitch.

‘Hundreds of Thousands’

In the U.S., Honda will recall 471,820 Odyssey minivans and
Acura RL luxury sedans from model years 2005 through 2007 to fix
the brake defect, according to a letter the Tokyo-based company
sent to the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
yesterday.

Honda has received no reports of accidents or injuries in
the U.S. related to a brake-fluid leak, said Christina Ra, a
spokeswoman for the company’s U.S. unit in Torrance, California.

Toyota’s American depositary receipts, each equal to two
ordinary shares, rose 20 cents to $71.82 at 10:45 a.m. in New
York Stock Exchange composite trading. Honda’s ADRs, each equal
to one ordinary share, fell 14 cents to $36.16.

Toyota found the brake-fluid flaw on its own, said David
Strickland, administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration.

“Toyota’s action was uninfluenced by NHTSA,” Strickland
told reporters yesterday in Herndon, Virginia. “They notified
the agency as soon as they knew, which is fantastic, and they
took affirmative action, which is the right thing to do.”

Braking Performance

In some cases, a small amount of brake fluid can leak from
the master cylinder and cause braking performance to gradually
decline.

“It can cause a ‘spongy’ feeling in the brakes,” said
Brian Lyons, a Toyota spokesman.

The problem occurs when the wrong type of brake fluid is
used, Lyons said. Toyota is aware of 14 incidents in the U.S. of
fluid leaking because of the flaw and none resulted in an
accident or injury, he said.

The recall also affects European markets led by the U.K.,
Russia and Germany, said Etienne Plas, a Brussels-based
spokesman for Toyota. In the U.K., Toyota is recalling 15,408
vehicles affected by the cylinder problem, he said by telephone.
Toyota also is recalling models built at joint ventures in
China, the country’s General Administration of Quality
Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine agency, said on its
website.